Monthly summary – October 2018

Welcome to our monthly summary for October 2018.

This provides a summary of:

1. the latest updates to our self-help information site for people with convictions
2. recent posts to our online magazine, theRecord
3. discussions on our online forum
4. other news and developments that might be of interest to people with a criminal record

Have you just stumbled across this? You can receive these updates direct to your inbox every month for free by signing up to our mailing list (make sure you choose to receive ‘news for people with convictions’)

Updates to our information site

Here’s a summary of the updates that we’ve made recently to the theInformationHub. There are links within each update to where you can find more information about the update. There are also links next to many of the updates, which link to threads on our online forum where you can discuss these with other people with convictions. 

Coming to (and staying) in the UK

• EU nationals staying in the UK and deportation from the UK due to a criminal record – We’ve published two new pages which set out the reasons why an EU national may be refused entry to the UK, the changes taking place in the lead up to (and after) the UK leaves the EU and the process by which someone might be deported from the UK if they’re convicted of a criminal offence.
• Applying for citizenship – We’ve updated this page setting out the criteria you need to meet to qualify for citizenship together with details of the impact a criminal record will have on this.

Work and volunteering

• Becoming a magistrate – Following the Chair of the Magistrates’ Association urging people with a criminal record to apply to become a magistrate, we’ve updated our information page on this.

theRecord posts

Below are links to recent posts to our online magazine, theRecord. These are often linked to from the practical information that we have, to help give some personal experiences.

Success – Rejected by employers but could my conviction also stop me from becoming a mother? – “Almost a year ago I decided that I wanted to start a family. With joy, excitement and lots of nerves all bundled up, I contacted a fertility clinic who posted a series of forms to me. Innocuously tucked in between the forms asking about my medical background and my consent for treatment was a ‘Welfare of the Child’ form with the earth-shattering question “Have you ever been convicted of harming a child? …..”

Struggles and stigma – Why won’t the media let us move on from our offending behaviour – especially those with sexual offences – “People change! No, it’s not a question, it’s a fact! Alcoholics become sober, drug users become clean, car thieves stop stealing cars, murderers stop killing and many turn their lives around and become excellent role models. However, commit a sexual offence and suddenly you aren’t capable and the scared, irrational and paranoid will bring out an impressive line-up of this or that expert to attest to the fact …..”

Success – Getting a US visa capped a very successful two years of rehabilitation post-conviction – “I have always been resourceful. Always had decent jobs, even holding down a fairly senior job working for central government. My world changed in 2016 when I was found guilty of fraud by false representation for claiming money I later found out I wasn’t entitled to …..”

Discussions on our online forum

Below are links to recent posts to our online forum. If you’d like to join in the discussion but are not currently a forum member, find out how you can join here.

UK citizenship  – Moonsoon is interested in finding out whether his conviction which resulted in a community order would stop him from getting UK citizenship. Can anybody offer him any advice?

My ex-employer has replied to my SAR but left out important data  – RunningMan has recently been dismissed from his job after his spent conviction came to light ‘from a different source’. Despite trying to find out by way of an SAR where this information came from, his employer’s haven’t provided him with the details. Does anybody have any ideas about what he should do next?

Other news and developments

Below are links to other news and developments that might be of interest to people with a criminal record. For more news, check out the news and media section of our main website.

New guidance published to support employers with GDPR, data protection and processing criminal records in recruitment

We’ve published new guidance to support employers to ensure that their policies and practices on collecting criminal records data during recruitment is fully compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Autumn 2018 newsletter – What we’ve been up to

Our recently published autumn 2018 newsletter provides an update of news at Unlock in the last three months.

Almost three-quarters of national companies continue to ask about criminal records at job application stage, new research shows

Marking the 5-year anniversary of the Ban the Box campaign, we’ve published new research which shows that the vast majority of national companies continue to have criminal record declarations as part of their initial job application forms. You can listen to Christopher Stacey, Unlocks co-director, discuss the findings on BBC Radio Sussex.